Joint Quality Review Committee

Chairman’s Message

Professor Frank H. K. Fu

Chairman of JQRC

The Joint Quality Review Committee (JQRC) was established as an independent quality assurance body by the eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee to provide a framework for peer review and quality assurance of the Self-financed Sub-degree Programmes offered by them. Being the first and only quality assurance body set up and owned by the UGC funded higher education institutions, this is a milestone development in Hong Kong – a timely initiative responding to the fast expanding self-financed sector and in line with global developments in quality assurance.

I am honoured to be elected as the third Chairman of the Board of Directors of JQRC. During these five years of its young history, JQRC has made invaluable input to the quality assurance of the Self-financed Sub-degree Programme Units under its remit - it has completed the first cycle of Institutional Review and enabled the uploading of over a thousand programmes onto the Qualifications Framework. These have been accomplished through the hard work of the Board of Directors, the Academic Council, JQRC colleagues and member institutions, in particular those colleagues in the continuing education divisions and community colleges which offer Self-financed Sub-degree Programmes. We are now taking stock of the outcomes and implications of the first cycle of review and planning for the second cycle ahead. We are also working with member institutions on their responses to the first Review and how they can further improve their quality assurance systems with input from the previous exercise.

One of the guiding principles of JQRC is the encouragement and promotion of quality and quality assurance at the member institutions in the context of their self-accrediting status. In performing its monitoring role, JQRC also encourages self-improvement and the sharing of good practices. In doing so, JQRC pays heed to the mission, value, and culture of the institutions, their internal structures as well as their traditions in quality assurance. While considering international and local norms and good practices, JQRC is also aware of the need for diversity and variation. Institutions have been constantly reminded that they are responsible to demonstrate to the public and to their clientele the quality of their educational provision and concern for quality.

The challenges faced by the Self-financed Sub-degree sector are many, and the issues posed by the transition to the New Academic Structure will add to these challenges. With support from the Education Bureau, JQRC is taking an active role to assist institutions in the sector to maintain quality programmes in face of this change, through organizing professional exchange sessions and research, and providing a platform for communication, discussion, and generation of ideas. JQRC will strive to consolidate her partnership with our member institutions in the years ahead.

I am confident that given the support, advice, and cooperation of our member institutions, the Government, and other stakeholders in the sector, JQRC will continue to contribute to the safeguarding of quality and to the development of quality assurance in Hong Kong.

Professor Frank Hoo Kin Fu, MH, JP

Chairman

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